Evidence is mounting that, as the climate warms, the amount of rain falling in heavy storms is increasing, especially in the central and eastern US.
Climate change made the devastating flooding in Belgium, Germany and other European countries in July 2021 more likely.
Anthony Dehez/Belga/AFP via Getty Images
A new attribution study finds human-caused climate change made Europe’s July floods more likely. What about Tennessee’s flooding? An atmospheric scientist explains how scientists make the connection.
Academic research can shed light on crucial questions about what life on Earth will be like under the most plausible emissions scenarios. And a warning: the answers are confronting.
The Little Ice Age brought some bitter extremes.
Pieter Bruegel the Elder, 1565
Not every extreme weather event is caused by climate change, but heat waves that were once ridiculously improbable are showing up more often. Just ask Portland.
Hurricane Harvey dumped an unheard-of 60 inches of rain in parts of Texas in 2017.
AP Photo/David J. Phillip
Gavin D. Madakumbura, University of California, Los Angeles; Alex Hall, University of California, Los Angeles; Chad Thackeray, University of California, Los Angeles, and Jesse Norris, University of California, Los Angeles
Scientists used artificial neural networks to analyze precipitation records. They found evidence of human activities influencing extreme rainfall or snowfall around the world.
As the planet continues to warm, extreme weather events such as heatwaves and heavy rainfall are becoming more frequent, intense and longer, according to global weather data.
Ghana has at least one one major flood disaster every year.
chunya2009/Flickr
Engineering practice assumes that floods are randomly distributed but science suggests they are not. This raises questions about the reliability of flood infrastructure and management strategies.
Frost affected many crops across WA during September 2016.
WA Department of Primary Industry and Regional Development
We already know that climate change makes heatwaves hotter and longer. But a new series of research papers asks whether there is also a climate fingerprint on frosty spells and bouts of wet weather.
The unpredictability of hurricanes makes it hard to say for sure whether climate change is making them worse. But we do know that sea-level rise and increased evaporation will worsen the impacts.
The Acros Fukuoka eco-building in Fukuoka, Japan boasts one of the world’s most famous green roofs. The GRIT Lab at the University of Toronto is working to bring green roofs to the city and beyond in order to combat climate change.
(Shutterstock)
Green roofs could play a critical role in helping cities cope with extreme rainfall events in the age of climate change. The roofs essentially suck up stormwater like sponges if designed properly.
Floods in places such as Queensland may depend on how soaked the catchment is, not just on how much it rains.
AAP Image/Dan Peled
Analysis of flood gauge data suggest that floods are becoming less frequent in many parts of the world. Despite that, more people and property are at risk, particularly in developing countries.
Climate change is already delivering more extremes of wet and dry to the Pacific region.
EPA/FRANCIS R. MALASIG
Scott Power, Australian Bureau of Meteorology; Brad Murphy, Australian Bureau of Meteorology; Christine Chung, Australian Bureau of Meteorology; François Delage, Australian Bureau of Meteorology, and Hua Ye, Australian Bureau of Meteorology
New research shows that global warming has already begun to exacerbate extremes of rainfall in the Pacific region – with more to come.
Was the prime minister right about storms and global warming?
AAP/Lukas Coch
Was Malcolm Turnbull right to say that larger and more frequent storms are one of the predicted consequences of climate change – but that you can’t attribute any particular storm to global warming?
Hard surfaces increase the risk of urban flooding.
Chesapeake Bay Program/Flickr
Since 1999, Australia has swung between drought and deluge with surprising speed, because El Niño has fallen into sync with similar patterns in the Indian and Southern Oceans.
Chief Investigator, ARC Centre of Excellence for Climate Extremes; Chief Investigator, ARC Securing Antarctica's Environmental Future; Professor, Monash University